Roommate Situations
by mostlypsychotic
Summary: Yuko's idea of a social test isn't quite normal. But what do you expect from a witch? The Tsubasa and xxxHolic characters are holed up together for a results-may-vary month with a bit of a twist. Shonen-ai, in case you're against it.
1. Chapter 1

When Watanuki entered Yuko's room with her three-course meal, he found the room empty and eerily silent. Frowning, he placed the tray down on a low table and looked around warily.

"Erm…hey, Yuko? I have your dinner. Hello~?" he called. The door on the opposite side of the room slid open and Yuko arrived, hauling in a few huge suitcases. She dropped them with a thud and grinned at her servant.

"Forget about dinner, Watanuki. I have an idea!" she said.

"Forget it?! It took me hours to cook this!" Watanuki fumed. Yuko laughed lightly and gestured at Maru and Moro, who were carrying in a familiar bag. "That's _mine_! What's wrong with you people?!"

"I'm fully aware that it's yours, Watanuki. We're going on a vacation!" Yuko announced. Watanuki sighed.

"That's never a good sign. Who's 'we?'"

"The two of us, Mokona, and your friends from school. Oh, and a few special guests," Yuko replied. Watanuki cringed. 'Your friends from school' always meant the two people on opposite ends of his spectrum.

"Can't we just bring Himawari for once? Why does that stupid Doumeki have to come along?" he grumbled.

"It's all part of my little test. You'll see when we get there. Maru! Moro!" The two girls looked up. "I'm locking up the shop, so don't worry about visitors. You'll be fine on your own for a little while, won't you?"

"We will!" the girls said in unison. "We'll watch it all from here!" Yuko stroked their hair, then turned back to Watanuki.

"All right, let's get going." She pulled a green rope from one of her bags and handed an end to him. "Don't let go, or you might be lost forever," she warned.

"What?!"

"Careful!" Mokona chimed in, landing on Watanuki's shoulder as the room started to spin. Watanuki shut his eyes tightly, trying to avoid motion sickness. However, when he opened them again, he couldn't see a thing.

When Watanuki's vision cleared, he was in the foyer of a mansion. Himawari was sitting on the stairs, looking dizzy, and Doumeki was at her side, rubbing his head. Mokona crash-landed beside Watanuki and groaned. The only one who looked unfazed was Yuko, who stepped out across the foyer and smiled.

"Ah, there you are," she said. "But where are my other guests…? I could've sworn I told the other Mokona about this." As if on cue, a group of people fell out of literally nowhere onto the tiles. The first one to stand was a tall man dressed in black, who immediately stormed over to Yuko.

"Dammit, witch! What the hell did you do to us this time?" A thin blond man appeared at his side and placed a hand on the darker man's arm.

"Now, now, Kuro-puu. I'm sure she'll explain everything soon enough," he said. The other man seemed to become more livid at the nickname, but he contained himself.

Behind them, a younger girl was sitting up slowly, with the help of a boy about her age. The other Mokona bounded across the room and onto Yuko's shoulder with a delighted squeal.

"Yuko~!"

"Hello, Mokona. It's been a while," Yuko said, petting the white creature. She turned to the rest of the group. "And Fai is correct. I have my reasons for bringing you all here. You're all part of my social test."

For a moment, everyone in the room stopped and just stared at the witch. Then the man in black went back to his irritable tone.

"Your _what_?!"

"You see, it's been a plan of mine for a while to have a social test of sorts, but I never had an interesting enough idea for what it would be. And then it hit me. Everyone in this room, including myself, will be trapped in this house for a month. Of course, everything we need to survive is here, and this is a very well-furnished place. But you may not leave, and you may not have contact with the outside world unless you'd like to talk to Maru and Moro through either of the Mokonas. And it's impossible to get out in any way, so don't bother," she said, directing the last part to the man in black, who was already glancing towards the nearest window. "Any questions?"

"You're kidding, right?" Watanuki asked. Yuko gave him a cool stare that extinguished his hopes. "Dammit."

"Well, I think this will be very interesting," Yuko said, looking across the room at her nine 'victims.'


	2. Chapter 2

Watanuki dragged his suitcase up three flights of stairs in search of the room Yuko said belonged to him. The whole 'social test' thing was still confusing to him, but all he knew was that he was in for a hell of a month, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Grumbling to himself as he searched for his room, he wondered if there really was no way to escape. It was just like Yuko to find her own way to make it so you couldn't get out no matter what you tried, but it was also just like her to joke around about stuff like this.

"Ah! Found it," Watanuki said aloud, relieved as he arrived at his room. He had walked in, thrown his bag on a queen-sized bed and fell back beside it before he noticed that he was not alone. "_Argh_! Doumeki, what the hell are you doing here?!" Doumeki looked up from his comic book with his usual cold expression.

"Yuko told me that this was my room, Watanuki. Maybe you have the wrong place."

"I do _not _have the wrong place! She told me it was the one right next to the big closet!" Watanuki snapped. Doumeki shrugged.

"Then it looks like we're roommates for now, doesn't it?" he said calmly. Watanuki steamed silently, but only for a minute.

"B-but I can't be in the same room with you for a month! I'll go insane!"

"Oh, shut up. It's not like we can help it, anyway. If it matters so much to you, you can go see if the two tall guys will let you share with them," Doumeki said, pointing at the wall. Watanuki stood there, mouth agape. Sharing a room with either of them wasn't exactly an incentive for him. "I'm going to bed," Doumeki continued. "Turn the light out, will you?"

"Doumeki! Don't act like this isn't a big deal!" Watanuki snapped. "Oh, forget it." He switched the lamp off almost violently and fell onto the other bed. He should've known that damn witch was going to do this. It was just her style, wasn't it?

"Watanuki! Doumeki!"

"Get up, get up!"

"It's time for day one!"

"Hurry!"

The two Mokonas had taken it upon themselves to go into each room and loudly wake up the guests inside. Watanuki glared at the giggling creatures as they bounded off of Doumeki's back and left the room.

"Ugh…" he grumbled, sitting up. It was still early, and Watanuki wondered if he would have to endure this every day. Day one, and the trip looked like it was going to be torture for all involved. Through the wall, he could hear the Mokonas waking up the next guests, and their responses.

"_Damn meat bun_!"

"Kuro-tan! Don't hurt them!"

"Is there anything good to eat downstairs?" Doumeki asked sleepily, rising to his feet. Watanuki, too tired to reply, left the room with him and plodded down the flights of stairs to the oversized kitchen. Yuko, Himawari and a young boy were already down there, making awkward conversation.

"You mean you didn't have waffles at all where you came from? Well, try some now! They're great with ice cream!" Himawari told the boy, who frowned down at his plate.

"Ice cream?" he asked. When the two boys entered the room, all three of them looked up in unison.

"Good morning, you two! Have you met Syaoran yet?" Himawari chirped, pointing at the boy. Watanuki had already gone into a lovestruck stupor, and waved at Himawari with an unusually bright smile.

"Hi, Himawari~!"

"Hello," Doumeki added, sitting next to Syaoran and helping himself to some of the waffles from the middle of the table.

"Um…yes, good morning," Syaoran mumbled shyly.

"Did you get a good nights' sleep?" Yuko asked innocently from her side of the table. Watanuki reverted back to his glare.

"Well, let's see. You put me in a room with _him_, for starters. And then you sent those weird things to come wake us up in the morning!" he snapped. Syaoran looked completely confused by this sudden change in mood, but Yuko simply laughed.

"I didn't send them to wake you up, silly! They have access to all the rooms, so they do that by themselves. And of course I put you and Doumeki together. It's perfect!"

"_Why_?! Why is it perfect?!" Watanuki complained, waving his arms around for emphasis. Syaoran turned to Doumeki and Himawari, startled.

"Does he do that a lot?" he whispered. Himawari nodded with an apologetic smile.

"It's his thing," Doumeki replied. While Watanuki continued his onslaught of shouting, the rest of the visitors arrived in the kitchen and took their own seats. The Mokonas came in last, perching on each of Yuko's shoulders.

"We woke _everyone _up! You're welcome!" they said cheerfully. Watanuki turned to see that the table was now filled.

"That was very helpful, you two. How'd you sleep?" she asked the young girl at her side.

"It was very comfortable, ma'am. Himawari told me that I could sleep in for a little while, but I guess I overslept," she said.

"Not at all, Sakura. I figure that if I'm trapping you here, you might as well enjoy your stay."

"Speaking of which," the ninja at the end of the table said irritably, "are those stupid creatures going to make bothering me a regular thing?"

"If they want to," Yuko replied with a calm smile. "Just because you all are here against your will doesn't mean I control you." She turned to the others, leaving the ninja to fume silently. "Now, I don't believe I took the time to introduce you all to each other. These two are both named Mokona. But you all probably figured that out. The angry one over here is Watanuki, and his roommate over there is Doumeki. These two young ladies are Sakura and Himawari, and they are also roommates. The 'scary' man is Kurogane, and his roommate is Fai. The Mokonas have decided to share a room with Syaoran, who is right there." The group's eyes followed Yuko's finger as she pointed to each 'victim' on her list.

"Why the finger quotes around scary?!" Kurogane complained.

"Stop calling him my roommate!" Watanuki shouted.

"Can you pass me a fork?" Doumeki asked Syaoran, seemingly unaware of the yelling around him.

"Yuko…why are you doing this, exactly?" Himawari asked at last. The table went quiet, waiting for the witch's answer. Yuko sat back, her fingers laced together below her chin.

"As I said yesterday, this is my idea of a social test. I want to see what it's like for you all to be trapped here together. Especially with the attitudes some of you have about each other." Watanuki lifted one of his hands to object, but Yuko paid no attention. "The way you people act is what brought me to do this in the first place."

_Author's Note (AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER?! NO WAY!): But seriously, I'm really sorry. This seems to be going really slowly. But I want to speed things up soon, so keep reading if you'd like! _


	3. Chapter 3

_Scratch. Scratch. Scratch._

Doumeki sat up in his bed with a groan, looking around for the source of the scratching. He found his roommate cross-legged on the floor, dragging a small blade down the wall.

"Watanuki…what are you doing?"

"What's it look like? I'm making a tally," Watanuki grumbled. "See, there's three marks, since we've been here three days. Understand?"

"Yeah, I get _that_," Doumeki replied irritably. "We have a calendar. What's the point in messing up the wall?"

"If _she _can keep me in here, I can do what I want," Watanuki said sharply, rising to his feet. "And don't try to parent me-"

"_What the hell?!_"

"Kyaaaah!"

Doumeki raised an eyebrow, and Watanuki jumped.

"Erm…did you hear that?" he asked slowly, his anger vanquished. Doumeki stood up and headed for the door.

"Yeah. We're in the same room," he said, walking out in search of the source. Watanuki hurried after him.

"Don't lay that on me! You know what I meant!"

"What did you do to me?!"

When Watanuki and Doumeki arrived at the main room, they found Sakura, Yuko and the Mokonas leaning over Kurogane, who was sprawled across the floor.

"I explained this, Kurogane. You can't get out, remember?" Yuko looked up at the staircase where the two boys stood. "Oh, hello. Did you hear the yelling? You see, this is what happens when you try to force your way out," she said, gesturing at the ninja.

"But what did you _do_?!" Kurogane raged.

"There are wards on the house, of course. You're temporarily stunned, and you'll be stuck there until you can move again. Unfortunately, I couldn't get you to stop talking…"

"Will he be okay?" Sakura squeaked.

"Yes, he'll live. It'll take an hour or so for the power to wear off, but he'll be up again in no time." Kurogane's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"An _hour_?!"

"Kuro-puu?" Watanuki turned quickly, not even realizing that the owner of the softer voice had been standing next to him for a while. Fai had the confused look of someone who had been startled from sleep, and was holding onto the railing as if he would doze off again if he didn't. "What did you do?" he asked, stepping carefully down and going over to look at his roommate. "Were you misbehaving again?"

"Don't parent me," Kurogane grumbled. Fai laughed a little and turned to Yuko."_Was _he misbehaving again?"

"Why, yes he was," Yuko replied cheerfully.

"He tried to leave, and now he can't move!" the white Mokona said loudly, hopping onto Fai's shoulder.

"I see. Yuko, am _I _allowed to move him?" the mage asked, crouching down at Kurogane's side. Watanuki and Doumeki watched as Yuko nodded and Fai lifted Kurogane into a standing position.

"Eh…Kuro-puu, I'm not sure if I can carry you. You're heavy," he said, wincing. Yuko looked back up at the two boys, her devious smile returning.

"You two can help him, of course," she said innocently, pointing down at them. Before Watanuki could break into loud protests, Doumeki grabbed his arm and pulled him down the stairs to the two men.

"Thanks," Kurogane said bluntly.

"Thank you," Fai said softly, grinning at Kurogane. "I don't mean to cause trouble, though I can't say the same for this guy."

"Will you shut up?!"

"That was really weird," Watanuki said when he and Doumeki returned down the hall. "Don't you think so?"

"Not really," Doumeki said. "What's so weird about it?"

"Didn't you see the way they were acting around each other? That ninja guy wasn't yelling as much when the blond showed up. What do you think it was?"

Doumeki was silent for a moment, his eyes on the ground.

"Some of us have friends we care deeply about," he said. "It'd be strange if _you _did, of course, but plenty of people have other people that they want to protect, regardless of gender." Watanuki blinked, not expecting this sort of attitude. Then a certain detail clicked in with him.

"What do you mean, it'd be strange if _I _did?!"


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: Sheesh, this is turning out to be a lot fluffier than I thought it'd be. Maybe I should focus on humor...but I already have it all planned out. Heheheheh. Anyways, on with the show, after a bit of a hiatus! Sorry to keep you waiting._

"Wah!" Watanuki froze in the hallway as the cry rang out, but only for a moment. If this was what he thought it was, it wouldn't be a surprise, after all.

"Princess! Are you alright?" Yep, it was no surprise. Princess Sakura was always falling over, being as clumsy as she was, and Syaoran was always doting on her. Hearing the two voices was a common occurrence, and by now Watanuki was used to it. Still, it didn't hurt to go check and make sure this wasn't the fall that actually hurt the young princess. Watanuki wandered toward the source of the shouting, the stairwell at the end of the hall. Rounding the corner, he spotted the two at the bottom of the stairs, and immediately retreated, blushing. The two had those _looks _in their eyes, the kind that he hadn't seen in a while but knew immediately. It was obviously a tender moment that the hapless boy had stumbled upon, but he couldn't help but watch anyway.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he heard Syaoran ask nervously.

"Yes, I'm fine," Sakura replied quietly. "If you could help me up, though..."  
"Of course!" Syaoran's voice was now anxious, and Watanuki heard the two shifting for a moment until Sakura was standing. He took the opportunity to step out, pretending he had just arrived, and found Sakura with her arms wrapped around Syaoran's shoulders for support. At the sight of Watanuki, both of them blushed deeply, but Watanuki pretended not to notice.

"Are you okay, Sakura? I heard you scream," he asked innocently. Sakura nodded.

"I'm okay," she said, smiling bashfully. "I just fell over again, but Syaoran was here to help me."

"Well, that's good," Watanuki said, deciding to play around a little bit. "It's a good thing to have somebody like that in your life, right? To protect you from getting hurt...?"

"P-Princess, I think we should get you to a resting place," Syaoran stammered, blushing again. "Your f-foot might be really hurt, and it's g-good to rest it for a little bit."

"Oh, okay!" Sakura said enthusiastically, stepping forward with Syaoran's help. "See you later, Watanuki!" Watanuki watched the two vanish down the hallway, Sakura hobbling clumsily and Syaoran carefully holding her up.

"Huh," he said to himself. "I should've known."

"There you are, Watanuki. Will you start on dinner for us?" Yuko asked the moment Watanuki walked into the dining room. The witch was seated at the table, seemingly doing nothing in particular but thinking.

"Can't ever give me a break, can you?" Watanuki grumbled, walking past her into the kitchen. As he pulled on an apron that hung on the door and searched the pantry for ingredients, Yuko stood and followed him, watching him with a smug look. After starting the oven, Watanuki noticed her expression and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want?" he asked blankly. Yuko smirked again and leaned back on the counter behind her, sighing.

"It was a result of my work that you saw today, Watanuki. On the stairs, between those two children. That was all part of my plan."

"How did you-" Watanuki cut himself off, rolling his eyes. Of course she knew. He knew better than to ask that question at this point. "What do you mean, your 'work?' What are you planning this time?"

"Well, my little test has two parts, you see. First of all, I want to see how you all can survive being so close to other people all the time. But there's an ulterior motive, you see."

"Of course there is."

"Let me finish. You're already aware of the bond between those children, the bond that served as the price for their journey. However, I thought I might help them a little bit. As their journey went on, the two have rebuilt a new bond, though Sakura is unaware at this point. By the end of this month, each of you, excluding myself, the Mokonas, and one other, will understand where you belong romantically."

Watanuki immediately began sputtering at the very thought.

"You mean...this was all just a plan to play _matchmaker_?"

"Not exactly. But mostly," Yuko added as an afterthought, chuckling. "Of course, I already know where each of you belong romantically, but it's always fun to watch, correct?"

"But who is it for me?" Watanuki asked nervously. Yuko smirked once more, looking at the boy from under her thick eyelashes.

"If I told you, it would ruin my entire plan, silly," she taunted, retreating to the dining room. "Let me know when dinner's ready."


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh, Himawari~!"  
Himawari looked up from her conversation with Sakura to find Watanuki juggling a huge breakfast on a tray.

"Good...good morning, Watanuki," she said, admittedly unsure how to respond to this latest gift. Watanuki placed the tray in front of her, eyes sparkling.

"I made you breakfast today! Enjoy!" he said, winking. Himawari was used to Watanuki's overly enthusiastic approaches, but even this was a surprise to her.

"Thank you, Watanuki!" she chirped nonetheless, smiling up at him. Beaming, Watanuki took a seat beside Doumeki, who was staring at him skeptically.

"What are you doing?" he asked in his usual blunt way. "You're being even more of a freak than usual." Though usually Watanuki would immediately become angry at Doumeki's insults, today was different for some odd reason. On the contrary, Watanuki was so caught up in his misconceptions that he barely knew who he was talking to.

After Yuko had left him with a cliffhanger of an answer, Watanuki had made the assumption that this meant he was destined to be with none other than Himawari by the end of the month. Since last night's dinner, this meant he was not-so-secretly plotting to let Himawari know about this, and have his long-term dreams come true. That's what caused his constant good mood, and his ignorance of Doumeki's voice.

Rolling his eyes, Doumeki looked from his lovestruck classmate to Himawari, who was still looking at the food like it was going to attack her. Sakura, however, had taken one of the sweet rolls from the edge of the tray and was nibbling on it.

"This is good, Himawari!" she announced, pointing at the food in her hand. "Try it! Watanuki's a really good cook!"

As Himawari tested the other sweet roll, Watanuki's eyes seemed to bug out of his head with joy.

"Do you like it?" he asked. Himawari nodded, her almost omnipresent smile returning.

"Delicious as always, Watanuki," she said.

_Moron_, Doumeki thought, watching Watanuki bask in this praise for a little while.

"Hey, Yuko?" The two Mokonas perched on Yuko's shoulders and pointed at Watanuki in unison. "What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing's _wrong_, exactly," Yuko said, looking at the scene in front of her from over her tea. "It's just that..." she beckoned for her two creatures to come closer, and they leaned next to her ears as she whispered. "I told him about my plan, and he got this idea, you see."

The Mokonas looked at each other slyly, rising up from their seats on Yuko's shoulders and meeting on the table to discuss this latest discovery.

"So now he's trying to get Himawari to like him!"  
"This is gonna be _fun_."

"How about we play around?"  
"I think so!"

Yuko smiled to herself as she listened in on the Mokonas' conversation. Their pranks were usually harmless, but Watanuki wouldn't appreciate any distractions in his plan for himself and Himawari. Either way, it was bound to be amusing. The Mokonas crept away, sneaking under the table, and swiftly got to work on loosening the bolts on Watanuki's chair. It was amazingly easy to get away with things when Watanuki went into this mode of his, as the two creatures noticed.

A few minutes later, a clatter and a shout of surprise signified that the two were finished. They returned to Yuko, giggling maniacally as Watanuki untangled himself from the mess of chair legs.

"What the hell was _that_?" he raged, finally back to his old self again. Pointing at Yuko and the two Mokonas, he seemed to be trying to shoot daggers with his eyes, judging by their fierce glare. "_You three_! What do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, Watanuki, you're so clumsy!" the white Mokona giggled.

"You'll never get a _girlfriend _that way!" the black Mokona chimed in.

As the word _girlfriend _reached his ears, Watanuki stopped flailing, and his anger became much quieter as he raced over to the witch.

"What did you tell them?" he hissed.

"Just enough to add some fun into that game of yours," Yuko replied coolly. Watanuki glanced back to find the Mokonas settling on his breakfast tray.

"Don't you dare! Stop interfering! I made that for the ladies!" he yelled, running over to rescue his cooking while the younger girls watched, amused.

Yuko simply sat back and snickered, as she always did.

_Author's Note: Oh, come on. You can't tell how the pairings are going to work out? Even if you know, I hope you'll stay around for the rest of their month, and see how things turn out for our two groups. And if you really don't know...well, more fun! I'm having a good time playing around with them, you know! So, that's all from me for this chapter. See you next time!_


	6. Chapter 6

"Will you two _stop it_?"

"But it's fun~! Don't you like fun, Watanuki?"

It took all Watanuki had to stop himself from taking both Mokonas and hurling them at the shatterproof windows. After all, he wouldn't have to pay for the broken glass. Still, he managed to resist those urges and fume at the two creatures instead.

"Not _your _kind, I can tell you that. Can't you just let me figure this out on my own?"

It had only been a day since the Mokonas learned about this change of events, and they had completely wreaked havoc for poor Watanuki- be it tripping him up, messing with the food he tried to cook, even going as far as to try and set Himawari up with Doumeki (which Doumeki decided to play along with, just to see Watanuki's reaction)- Yuko's two 'henchmen' were doing everything in their power to ruin the boy's luck in winning his girl over, and it was, obviously enough, frustrating him.

"Don't you have anybody else to bother? Try messing with somebody else for a change."

"But no one's as _fun _as you!" the Mokonas said wisely, cuddling Watanuki's hands. "You're our favorite to play with, Watanuki~!"  
"Stop it!" Watanuki waved his hands around roughly, trying to shake off the two rabbit-like things on his arms, but they refused to budge. "Let go!"

"Never!"

"I swear, I'm about to-"

"What are you three up to?"

Watanuki turned to the top of the staircase, humiliated at the thought of anyone finding him trying to fight off two Mokonas. However, it was only Fai, watching them with a friendly look. Still embarrassed, Watanuki, still blushing a little, looked down at his arms.

"Can you get them off me?" he said, glaring at the Mokonas as he spoke. Fai chuckled and nodded.

"Of course. Are you two giving him trouble?" he asked as the Mokonas darted over to him.

"No way, Fai! We were just playing around!"

Watanuki scoffed, biting his tongue to keep a snarky remark in.

"If you say so," Fai said, giving Watanuki a sympathetic grin. The door near the top of the staircase opened, revealing the irritable ninja that Watanuki couldn't help but be afraid of.

"Mage," he said, glaring at Fai as he walked up to him. "Have you been messing around in our room again?"

"What do you mean, Kuro-puu?" Fai asked, using one of the nicknames that Kurogane hated so much.

"I _mean_, where's my sword? I know where I left it, and now it's gone! What'd you do to it?" he snapped, the nickname fanning his already heated temper. Fai seemed unaffected, as he simply smiled as usual. The two Mokonas looked between the two for a moment, before clambering onto the railing to whisper to each other.

"Maybe Yuko took it. After all, it's probably dangerous for somebody like you to be carrying around a weapon. There are innocent people here, Kuro-rin."

"What's _that _supposed to mean? I can control myself fine, mage!"

"Ohh, you two," the white Mokona interrupted, floating onto Kurogane's head. "Listen to you argue~! Just like a married couple!" The black Mokona giggled, joining his counterpart in the ninja's hair and winking.

"Yes, yes, you two get along so perfectly! Fai's so nice and calm, and Kuro-rin's scary and angry all the time!"

"It balances out!" the two finished in unison.

"Scary and angry?" Kurogane raged. From his place at the bottom of the stairs, Watanuki wondered if he should mention that Kurogane was proving the Mokonas' point with his outburst.

"He missed the point!" the black Mokona complained.

"Yes, yes! We're saying that you two would be..." the white Mokona paused for dramatic effect, and to let his 'brother' join in.

"Compatible~!" they chirped.

"What are you going on about?" the burly ninja grumbled, but was cut off.

"You think so?" Fai asked, smiling widely. Kurogane looked down at the mage, slightly swayed by his attitude towards the Mokonas' comment. Before he could correct or deny it, Fai had dragged Kurogane away by the arm to discuss the matter. Giggling, the Mokonas flew away, most likely to watch their work play out from a distance. Watanuki watched, his jaw slacked. Utterly confused by what had just happened, he sank down onto the stairs, head in hands.

_Sheesh...I need to check my tally._

_Author's Note: Ah, I love summer! The perfect time for spending my days updating my stories for you good people! Thanks to all of you who have been following my story and reviewing it to tell me how much you liked it. I really appreciate it~_


	7. Chapter 7

However, it appeared that the Mokonas had done _something _right in the mess they had created at the house. The next morning, when Watanuki and Doumeki arrived at the dining room, they noticed something new about the way the others were seated. Specifically, Fai had his arms draped over the shoulders of Kurogane, who was trying with every fiber of his being to control himself. On the other end of the table, Himawari, Syaoran and Sakura were watching nervously, and the Mokonas were giggling with glee. Yuko seemed completely unaffected by the entire thing, and looked over at the other two as they walked in.

"You two are late," she said, waving nonetheless. "Sleeping in?"

"Yeah," Doumeki said, taking a seat in front of a plate of fruit and immediately helping himself, as if the overly romantic new couple was invisible. Watanuki, however, wasn't as shy about it.

"Uh...what's going on?" he asked, gesturing openly at the two across the table from him. "Is there something I should know about?"

"Not in particular," Yuko replied, smiling. "Just that two of our guests decided that there was something they needed to sort out for themselves, and they did so."

"I can see that," Watanuki said, blushing as Fai hugged his ninja tighter. "But...you guys are being so open about it..." he said cautiously, directing the last part at the two he had been referring to.

"I'm sorry," Fai said, though this didn't make him let go of his new partner. "He's very comfortable, you see, and I'm testing his self-control!"

_And that's another thing I didn't need to know, _Watanuki said, blushing even more deeply. To his right, Sakura giggled to herself, and Kurogane shot her a look.

"Um...okay," Watanuki said, resigning himself to the odd couple's behavior and sinking into the vacant chair. For a while, there was silence, allowing him to think about it.

_Okay, then. I can't say I expected those two to end up one of the couples in the end...though I guess there wasn't really anyone else to put them with. I mean, Syaoran and Sakura are too young...Yuko already said she wasn't going to be involved, and the three of us are out for obvious reasons...but still. Kurogane's really kind of scary at times, the complete opposite of Fai...maybe it's part of that 'completing each other' crap I've heard. And that's one less thing to worry about, I guess. There's only five of us left for that witch to pair up...so...man, what if she messes around? What if she tries to put me with one of the people I barely know, or...or..._

_No! I know for a **fact **that I'm going to end up with Himawari, dammit! There's no other way this can work! Doumeki and I are just...no, it can't happen. I know it. _

"Can you believe it?" Yuko asked, breaking both the silence and Watanuki's panicky thought process . "We're only halfway through the month, and things are already getting interesting, wouldn't you say?"

"I'll say," Syaoran agreed weakly. The rest of the group remained silent, though the Mokonas looked cheerful as ever with the way things turned out for them.

"Two weeks to go," Yuko went on, her almost redundant comment directed more at Watanuki than at anyone else. "I think this is going to be _fun_."

Watanuki cringed at the very thought of what was to come. The end of the month couldn't get here fast enough.

_Author's Note: Ohohohoho. Why yes, I am feeding the KuroFai fanbase out there, hiding or not. For the anti-KuroFai people, I'm sorry. (cringes) Hopefully next chapter's pairing will have you a bit more satisfied. See you then, and sorry for the short-ish chapter. _


	8. Chapter 8

Somebody had left the door to the library open, as Yuko noticed. The witch had been wandering around the hallways, looking for her Mokonas to see what kind of trouble they were getting into. It didn't seem like they were anywhere close by, since the hallway she was in was quiet and almost peaceful. She couldn't help but peek into the library, though, to see if her assumptions were correct.

Sure enough, when she looked in, trying to be as quiet as possible, she found exactly what she expected. Syaoran was asleep on one of the couches against the wall, a blush still painting his cheeks despite the fact that he had dozed off. Curled up on his shoulder was Sakura, who had seemingly fallen asleep halfway through reading her book and unwittingly made Syaoran her pillow.

_Two down, one to go, _Yuko thought cheerfully, closing the library door to allow the newest couple their peace.

Yuko crossed the foyer in search of her assistant, her long dress billowing at the feet. Watanuki had finally decided to give up on his romantic endeavors for the time being, and was biding his time with all sorts of things. That day, he was cleaning the dining room almost feverishly, scrubbing the table with unneeded force. He didn't notice Yuko until she had come up right behind him and poked him playfully in the back.

"_Wah_!" he screamed, jumping forward and hitting the corner of the table in surprise. Wincing, he turned around to find the witch giggling. "Yuko!" he whined.

"I'm sorry, Watanuki," she said through her laughter. "I just wanted to have a conversation with my favorite ghost-attracting assistant." Watanuki rolled his eyes, still rubbing the part of his side that had connected with the table, and tossed the cleaning cloth aside.

"Fine, then. What do you want?" he asked.

"Well, the thing is, I happened to be walking around the house today, just making sure everyone was doing alright, and I noticed a certain two world-traveling teens getting rather comfortable with each other." Watanuki blinked, comprehending what this meant, then flushed a little.

"Oh. Um...good for them, then. I had a feeling it would be those two," he mumbled. Yuko looked at the boy innocently.

"We're all running out of time here, Watanuki," she said in a sing-song voice. "We're getting close to the end of the second week, and-"

"Yes, I know," Watanuki interrupted, teeth clenched. He paused, then looked up at his employer, trying to make himself look cute and desolate. "Yuko, can't you give me a little bit of help?" he asked. "I'm not good at this kind of thing."

"You should know by now that I don't give out help without a price, no matter how big you're making your eyes," Yuko replied cheerfully. "You'll be fine. After all, this _is _hitsuzen. Everything will work out for you in the end." Yuko's eyes gleamed slightly as she looked at Watanuki. "But there really are only two choices left, unless you want to end up with one of the Mokonas."

Watanuki seemed disturbed by the very thought.

"But I figured things would work out by now...will you at least tell me if I'm doing something wrong?" he asked. In response, Yuko simply patted the boy on the shoulder.

"You messed up one detail, and that's affecting the entire outcome. You'll figure it out, though." Yuko walked off, leaving Watanuki to start cleaning again.

As Yuko left the dining room, she immediately looked at the door to said room, which was almost fully pushed against the outside wall.

"Doumeki, I never thought you were the type of person to hide away and listen to conversations," she said to the door, making sure Watanuki was out of earshot. Doumeki stepped out of his hiding place, frowning.

"I should've known you would catch me," he grumbled. "I don't understand this either, that's all. I was hoping to get a little light from you and him."

"There's not much to explain that I haven't told you," Yuko replied. "You seem a little more accepting of this entire thing, Doumeki." Doumeki leaned against the wall, rubbing his forehead, and nodded in agreement.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I don't really see any other option. I've never had an interest in either of them that way, you know."

"But you consider Himawari too much of a friend," Yuko finished. Doumeki let a small, fleeting smile cross his lips for a moment.

"Yeah...he's never going to accept it, though. He's stubborn."

"Indeed," Yuko said. "But time will tell."


	9. Chapter 9

But something about his latest conversation with Yuko gave Watanuki a second burst of energy. He now believed that his 'luck' with Himawari had returned, and with it, his attempts at winning her over. Of course, this meant that the almost hyperactive side of him had returned, bringing both annoyance and entertainment to the other guests. Doumeki, for one, was the former- Watanuki's stalker-like tendencies were strange, to say the least. As he watched Watanuki attempt another 'flirt,' he couldn't help but smirk a little.

_The guy has no idea how to do this, does he? _

"Watanuki," Yuko said from where she was watching the whole trainwreck, "can you keep it down? I'd like to rest a little while I have the opportunity." Watanuki looked up from Himawari, his mood immediately changing to irritated.

"Can't you go somewhere else, then?" he complained. "I'm having a decent conversation!"

"You keep telling me how pretty my hair looks," Himawari corrected innocently. Watanuki flushed as Yuko laughed.

"Quite the Casanova, I see," she teased in the same innocent tone that Himawari had used. Himawari giggled, obviously not making the connection. Doumeki continued to watch without a word as Watanuki reverted to his usual combination of arm-flailing and high-pitched yelling in retort. Part of it wished that he would listen to the witch and give it a rest already, but another part of him found something else irritating about it.

His annoyance with the lovelorn Watanuki only increased when the two ended up in their room that night.

"This is so unfair!" the glasses-clad boy was saying as he scratched yet another tally-mark on the wall. "It's bad enough that I have to go through this damn month, but now I'm the puppet, too? What else do you guys want from me?" Standing up and tossing the blade aside, he turned sharply to face his roommate. "Doumeki, are you even listening to me?"

"Sure," Doumeki replied dully, though he had been trying to block out the kid's chattering the entire time. He decided, however, that it would be best to stay on his good side for the time being, since there was a sharp object within reach. "Maybe you're doing something wrong," he offered.

"What could I be doing wrong? I've tried everything! You'd think _something _would work after a while, but no, not at all. You know, Doumeki, just because you've never dated doesn't mean you need to say stupid things." Doumeki rolled his eyes at Watanuki's condescending attitude, but remained silent. His self-control was slowly starting to fade, and one more remark could make him snap at this point. It was also obvious that Watanuki didn't know that.

"Seriously though, how can I make things go better for me?" Something about that one phrase was enough for Doumeki.

"Maybe things would go better for you if you didn't act like such a desperate idiot all the time," he snapped. Watanuki admittedly looked shell-shocked, not expecting his stoic roommate to have such a change in attitude.

"...What's _that _supposed to mean?" he asked, trying to force his voice to be venomous. Doumeki returned his look coldly, ready to send some more insults his way.

"Exactly as I said. Everyone's laughing at you these days, with the way you're acting. Not that I can blame them."

_He's lying, _Watanuki thought, though he couldn't convince himself. _It's all part of the process...are they laughing at me?_

"You proved me right," he said aloud. "I suspected that you'd be the one left without somebody at the end of the month, since you're so stubborn and arrogant."  
"Really," Doumeki said sarcastically. His dull tone only infuriated Watanuki further.

"Yes, really. And now I _know _I'm right. Thanks a bunch, Doumeki." With that, Watanuki stormed from the room, letting the door swing closed violently behind him. Doumeki glared at the door for a moment, before standing up and locking it from the inside.

_The idiot forgot his key, _he thought, sitting back on the bed. _He can find somewhere else to sleep. _

_But...what have we done this time? _


	10. Chapter 10

The fact that he and Doumeki were no longer speaking gave Watanuki a new reason to stay away from his shared bedroom as much as possible. As a few days passed, he found the library becoming his new habitat, and Syaoran becoming his new friend. Though the other boy didn't exactly know what had caused the fight, he was sympathetic, and that was enough for Watanuki. The only problems in his eyes were the traveler's tendencies to be overprotective of his girlfriend, and, at times, his almost dumb questions. As perceptive and brainy as he was, Syaoran _was _still younger, and sometimes he could be a little bit dense. Still, Watanuki didn't mind, as long as he had another guy to spend time with during the day.

Unfortunately for Watanuki, though, Syaoran couldn't help but be a little biased in the whole relationship thing. The two Mokonas had been hyping it up recently, almost making it seem like a contest for three unwilling participants. Somehow, the rest of the group, excluding the three involved, had managed to get into it.

"...and remember, you owe me dinner if you're wrong, Kuro-rin!" was the first thing Syaoran heard when he walked into the dining room and found his traveling companions and the Mokonas at the table.

"Hi, Syaoran!" the Mokonas said in unison. "Want to make a bet?"

"A...bet?" Syaoran echoed, confused. Fai nodded.

"The Mokonas had a great idea- we can place bets on who we think Watanuki will end up with by the end of this month," he explained. Syaoran blinked.

"Isn't that kind of...weird?" he asked. Kurogane nodded in agreement, but bit his tongue.

"It's fun!" Sakura piped up, sparking nervousness in her new boyfriend.

"Um...okay, then," he said, taking a seat beside her.

"Right now the odds are against Watanuki, I guess," Fai admitted with a smile. "But Kuro-pon still thinks he'll be with Himawari, so I decided to humor him."

"So, Syaoran," the Mokonas said in unison, as they usually did. "What's _your_ bet?"

Syaoran went for the library the moment his friends freed him, figuring it was best that Watanuki knew about this latest development. How he would approach it, however, was something he'd have to figure out along the way.

"Hi, Watanuki," he said nervously, walking in and taking a seat behind the boy, who was buried in a pile of books. Seemingly engrossed in the one on his hand, the dark-haired boy waved halfheartedly back, allowing Syaoran more one-sided conversation.

"Can I ask you a kinda personal question?"

"Sure." The tone of his voice made Syaoran think that he was barely paying attention.

"...Do...do you think you know who you'll end up with?" Watanuki sputtered, his common response to being questioned on the matter.

"What brings that up?" he asked quickly.

"Uh...you see, people are making bets."

"_Bets_?" Watanuki asked incredulously. "Are you _kidding_? We've been in this house too long...what are they saying?"

"Doumeki and Himawari aren't allowed to bet or know the results, but it's pretty much fifty-fifty," Syaoran lied. Watanuki's shoulders slumped.

"Gees...what do _you _think, Syaoran?" he asked suddenly. "Who do you think I'll end up with when this is over? Be honest."

"Um...well, don't take this the wrong way," Syaoran began. Despite the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Watanuki motioned for the brunette to go on. "I'm just judging by what everyone's saying, but...I think you'll probably end up with Doumeki..." he trailed off. Watanuki stood up, as infuriated by the notion as ever.

"I'm telling you, everyone's saying the same damn thing! Do you really think that I have so little a chance with Himawari that I should go for _him _instead? Seriously! When are you people gonna get it through your heads that I'm _not _meant to be with Doumeki?" With his rant over, Watanuki slumped back on the couch to grumble to himself.

"Um...okay," Syaoran said apologetically, though he distinctly remembered Watanuki telling him to be honest. When Watanuki didn't reply, he headed for the door of the room, deciding to end the conversation before he said something else that the boy could take the wrong way. "See ya later," he added. Once he was gone, Watanuki was left to wonder why everyone had the same mindset as Yuko, though it wouldn't have surprised him if she had brainwashed the others.

"This is starting to annoy me," he said to no one in particular. "Really..."

_Author's Note: Sheesh. Again with the short chapters. And, just for the record, I have two blatant filler-chapters planned just to have a bit of random, nonsensical entertainment thrown in. Hope you don't mind, because it's happening. (insert evil laugh here) xD Wow, only 6 chapters to go...see you next time!_


	11. Chapter 11

For the two Mokonas, there was nothing better than a lunch where everyone joined in. Specifically, there was no better time to pull pranks. That was how they had ended up sneaking into a certain pair of travelers' bedroom that afternoon, a little bit of mischief in their minds, before returning to the dining room with everyone else.

Needless to say, when Kurogane's cape and sword floated into the room, it wasn't exactly well-received. The other guests, excluding Yuko, weren't sure what to make of it, especially when it started talking in a voice identical to Kurogane's.

"Dammit, witch!" it said, the sword rising up to point at Yuko. "When are we getting out of here? None of these windows break, no matter how hard I've tried!" Kurogane blinked, not sure whether to attack whatever had his belongings or to remain silent and confused, like everyone else.

"Or even when he _isn't _trying, if you know what I mean~" Fai's long coat floated into the room, with the mage's voice ringing from it. The implications of that sentence alone were enough to make Kurogane look like he was going into conniptions, and even Fai looked slightly embarrassed. As the articles of clothing proceeded to make loud, obnoxious kissing noises to add onto the effect, Kurogane's face grew redder and redder. Himawari stifled a giggle as it went on, until the ninja finally decided to interrupt it.

"_Enough_! What the hell is going on?" he roared, grabbing for his cape and pulling it away. The black Mokona was revealed floating above the ground, and it immediately began laughing hysterically.

"Did you like our impression?" it asked, pointing at Fai's coat, which had fallen away to reveal the giggling white Mokona. From her place at the table, Yuko immediately began to laugh.

"That was great, you two~" she said, mainly knowing that saying so would annoy Kurogane further. Sure enough, the ninja proceeded to grab a glass of water off the table and douse both Mokonas with it, before sitting down again with a loud sigh. This would turn out to be a mistake, of course.

"Is that an invitation?" they asked in unison. With that, all hell broke loose. The Mokonas landed on the table and began throwing as much food as their little hands could carry at the poor ninja, as well as the other guests at the table.

"Hey, wait!" Watanuki protested, dodging a bread roll. "It took me _hours _to make this! Yuko, can't you do something?" He glanced over, just to find that Yuko was seated under the table, waiting for it to end. After a while, Kurogane managed to force his way over and grab both the Mokonas, stopping the impromptu food fight quickly.

"Come on! You locked me in this house for a month and you expect me to take this from these things?" he asked Yuko, waving the creatures in her direction. "It's bad enough that I'm trapped in here, but can I at least endure the torture without your _things _bothering me?"

His complaining over, Kurogane proceeded to drop the Mokonas, grab his and Fai's stolen belongings and storm from the room with whatever dignity he could muster. Fai decided to speak now.

"I'm sorry. You know how Kuro-sama acts," he said, grinning offhandedly. "He _does _have a point, though. How long will it be until we're let out of here?" Yuko smiled coolly at him, plucking a leaf of lettuce from her hair and dropping it on the table.

"Well, I have my own special countdown, so I've been monitoring the days, of course. We've been here for three whole weeks exactly," she explained. Fai nodded.

"So...just a week?" Yuko nodded convincingly.

"Yes, and you can tell Kurogane the same."

With his information official, Fai hurried after his ninja, leaving the others to listen to the argument from the food-covered room.

_Author's Note: Okaaay, I'll admit it. The only reason I wrote such a blatant filler-chapter was because I wanted to hold the ending back for a little while. But I like food fights! (is booed) It's still ending after chapter 16, like I said, but the plot will be dragged out a little longer. Don't worry, just one more filler from me, and it won't be next chapter~ See you next time!_


	12. Chapter 12

Doumeki woke up the next morning, his head still aching slightly from where he had been hit by a salad spoon, and found himself alone. After a while, he had gotten used to Watanuki leaving before he could wake up, or not even sleeping in the same room at all, so it was no surprise. Looking around the room, he couldn't help but feel like Watanuki's presence was a little bit needed- his loud, annoyed complaints would even beat out the silence that he dealt with every morning. Crouching beside the wall, Doumeki realized that the tally hadn't even been edited in a while. That was enough to irritate him more than Watanuki ever had in the past month.

_This has been going on for too long, _he decided, heading out of the room. If he wanted it to stop, though, he'd need help from somebody who had the intelligence in this respect.

"Ah, good morning, Doumeki," Fai said when he opened the door to his room and found the younger boy standing in the doorway. The blond appeared as cheerful as usual, if not a little tired. "What's going on?"

"Good morning," Doumeki replied. "Can I talk to you, or are you busy?" Confused, Fai shook his head.

"No, it's okay. What's on your mind?" he asked, stepping back to allow Doumeki into the room. Now Doumeki couldn't help but be a little embarrassed at what he was about to ask. He had rehearsed it as he headed for the room, but now he was drawing a blank.

"Well...I needed some advice," he began, deciding it was better than nothing.

"Is this about Watanuki?" Fai smiled knowingly as Doumeki blinked with surprise.

"How...how'd you know that?" he asked. Fai shrugged.

"Just a guess. Besides, with all of Yuko's hinting, it's almost completely obvious how this is going to end...but you two are still fighting, right?"

"Pretty much," Doumeki said, still amazed that the mage had guessed it all. Now Fai beamed.

"So, that's where I come in~," he went on. "You came here looking for romantic advice, right?"

"I wouldn't say _romantic_, but I need to know how to get him to stop avoiding the topic, yes."

"Hm..." Fai paused, seeming to concentrate on the subject before speaking. "Well, at least _try _to be gentle at first, and see if that gets him to listen. From there, things should at least get a little better...but if not, there's always using force, right?" There was a sudden shifting noise as Kurogane looked up from where he had been sleeping, looking disturbed at what he had just heard. Fai ignored this, however, and continued. "Either way, you can't really get romantic until he starts talking to you again, right? So don't work on anything else until you get that much down."

"What are you _talking _about?" Kurogane asked. "Mage, are you giving him bad ideas?" Fai turned around, smiling innocently.

"Of course not! It's _advice_, not ideas," he corrected. Looking back at Doumeki, he found that the boy still looked a little bit confused. "Listen," he said, softening. "What makes a couple have what they call 'chemistry' is different. People are all made up of something different, and the trick is to figure out what it is that the person you want is made of. If you work with that, instead of trying to change the person to fit you, things will be much easier, I promise."

Doumeki was silent, thinking this through. Using that technique would take a lot of work...but what didn't, anyway? Fai seemed to be happy enough with his own partner, despite being the complete opposite of the surly ninja.

"Thank you," he said at last. "I'll let you two go, now. See you later." As he left the room, Fai looked up at Kurogane, who still looked as disturbed as he did before.

"...You weren't mentioning anything personal, were you?" he asked gruffly. Fai simply sighed contentedly and leaned on the ninja's shoulder.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he said. "I promise, I was just helping him~"

"You really think we need more people running around with _your _ideals?"

"...Probably not," Fai admitted with a light laugh. "But I want to see how it goes for the two of them. Watanuki's just as hardheaded as you, Kuro-pon!"


	13. Chapter 13

"Good morning, you two!"

Yuko had arrived in the girls' bedroom uninvited, and was seated on Sakura's bed, looking between the two bemused females.

"Um...good morning," they replied quietly, wondering why the witch had decided to strike up a conversation. From the way she had teased the others, they had learned that it usually didn't end well, but they couldn't say so.

"What's going on?" Himawari asked nonetheless. The almost evil smile that Yuko gave in return almost sent chills down their spines, but the question turned out to be almost completely innocent.

"I just want to have a conversation with you two, of course. Between us girls, okay~?"

"Um...okay," Sakura said nervously, as Himawari nodded in agreement. The evil smile widened.

"Perfect. Now, between you two and me, I'm curious to know...what do you think of the men in this house?"

"_Huh_?" Sakura squeaked, blushing.

"No, no, not like that," Yuko said, laughing. "I just want to know. You've had plenty of time this month to get acquainted with them, so I want to know what your impressions are. That's all."

"Oh..." Now the younger girl smiled nervously, glancing at Himawari before speaking again. "But I've been traveling with three of them, so wouldn't I know them better than the other two?"

"And it's the opposite for me," Himawari chimed in. Yuko rolled her eyes, surprised that the two were missing the point.

"I don't care about how long you've known them," she said. "I'm just curious, that's all." The two victims of Yuko's curiosity wondered where it would be best to start.

"Well, I think Sakura's boyfriend is very sweet," Himawari began. "He takes care of her all the time, and makes sure she doesn't get hurt when she falls over. I think it's cute." Sakura smiled widely.

"Thank you! I'll tell him that you say so!" she chirped. "They're all nice to me when we're traveling, so I try not to annoy them. Fai taught me to cook things in one of the countries we went to, and Kurogane isn't as harsh as he seems at first. He taught Syaoran to use a sword, and he always has something important to say."

"I can tell. He seems like he's smart, once you get past the fact that he's always trying to break out through a window."

"Is he?" Yuko asked, looking slightly annoyed. As the two realized what they had just put in store for the poor ninja, the witch continued. "Well, go on." Himawari decided to speak up now.

"And Fai also seems to be nice. He'd have to be patient, too, if he's Kurogane's partner," she observed.

"The guys you spend time with seem to be good people, too," Sakura added. "Doumeki and Watanuki, right? They're complete opposites, but they used to get along pretty well, before that whole fight."

"Yeah..." Himawari softened now, a little sadder at the mention of the fight. "I don't know what happened between them, but it's really bad, apparently. I hope they can stop it, though." Something Sakura said clicked with her, suddenly. "Opposites? You think so?"

"Yep. Doumeki's a lot more mellow, as far as I can see. He doesn't talk much, and he doesn't get worked up easily over things that the others do. Watanuki, on the other hand..." Himawari giggled.

"Yeah, he tends to be a little extreme at times, but he's really thoughtful. Even towards Doumeki, who he says he hates. He helps people out, because that's what he thinks he's meant to do." She paused, reflecting on her comment, then spoke up again. "You've got it right, though. He _is _a little weird."

"I can tell," Sakura said. "He seems to have a good heart, though."

"One thing's for sure," Himawari said with a laugh. "They've been livening up this whole month, wouldn't you say?" Sakura nodded in agreement, grinning.

"Yes, I agree. They're all very...interesting," Yuko said with the ever-knowing smile she usually wore.

_Author's Note: Alright, alright. It's the last filler, I promise. I don't like writing fillers, after all. This was just a test to see if I could do so. Just so you know, I've been working on the chapters out of order, so the last three are pretty much done already~ But you'll see them when I get around to publishing them, so see you next time!_


	14. Chapter 14

_Scratch. Scratch._

Doumeki couldn't help but be slightly relieved when he heard the familiar sound of Watanuki scraping the tally marks into the wall. He sat up slowly, looking at the now mutilated patch of wall. It really had been a while since the entire thing began, hadn't it?

Watanuki heard a shifting behind him, signifying that Doumeki had woken up. He decided not to address it, since it would just make everything more complicated. All the avoiding of the room had made his tally confusing, but, according to Syaoran, there were only five days left.

He had decided to end his attempts with Himawari. It was obvious by now that they weren't going to work, no matter how hard he tried. It left him with a bit of a desolate feeling and a lot of spare time, which left him with no choice but to return to his place with Doumeki. And now that idiot was awake, staring at him as if he was some sort of alien. He was tempted to make a remark, but his roommate beat him to it.

"Good morning," he said in that monotonous way of his. Watanuki looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowed.

"Only five days left," he announced. "Can you believe it?"

"I guess so." Watanuki groaned inwardly. Trust Doumeki to act like the fight had never happened, to make _him _the only one keeping it going. But maybe they were past it now. It was never easy to tell, considering the way they acted normally.

"I gave up," he continued softly. Doumeki even had the decency to look surprised as he spoke. "I guess this means I don't belong with Himawari after all. So...whoever _is _right for me is out there, somewhere. Good luck with her." Watanuki smiled weakly as he finished.

Of course. Doumeki had guessed that, even with five days left, Watanuki _still _wouldn't believe it. It was time to use force, in a way.

"Just give up, Watanuki! You might as well accept that we're going to be this way in the end!"

Watanuki's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He turned slowly back to Doumeki, hardly daring to believe that the other boy had really said that. The fact that Doumeki was now blushing furiously, though, proved otherwise.

"Yuko told you?" Watanuki asked bluntly.

"And I know she told you, too. I heard the conversation," Doumeki admitted.

"Of course you did." With a sigh, Watanuki stepped forward a little so that he had complete eye contact with the other boy. For a moment, the only sound was the distant, joyful shouting of the two Mokonas as they played around in some faraway room. "Doumeki." His voice had become much quieter than before, with an almost embarrassed undertone.

"Hm?"

"Are you..._alright _with this? Just because you can accept it doesn't mean that you can agree to it. If you don't want to..." It was Watanuki's turn to blush, his eyes traveling down to his bare feet. Doumeki stepped closer, tentatively reached out to touch Watanuki's hand, and kissed him awkwardly on the cheek. Watanuki's face heated up, but he didn't dare move.

"I'll be okay with it," he said, trying to comfort the boy. Now Watanuki couldn't help but laugh nervously.

"Man...that felt weird," he said. "You don't have any experience, do you?" He almost immediately went beet-red at the implications, but Doumeki appeared unaffected by it.

"Not really," he admitted. Watanuki nodded, stepping forward again.

"M-me neither," he stuttered, before testing the kiss on his own. This time it was on the lips, as well as more comfortable, as if they had finally come to understand it, and Watanuki allowed his eyes to close for a moment.

"Hm," Doumeki said when it was over, touching a finger to his bottom lip. Silence had fallen back over the room, during which Watanuki practically radiated heat from his reddened face and Doumeki continued to think about what was happening.

"Well," Watanuki said, breaking the silence once again, "I...I bet everyone's hungry! Yeah, that's it! I need to make them breakfast!" He proceeded to run from the room, leaving Doumeki bemused. Still, he couldn't help but smile a little to himself.

_That's twice now that he's made me act the way I shouldn't. I think it'll be okay, _he thought.


	15. Chapter 15

Watanuki barely looked up from his plate that night at dinner. Both receiving the first two kisses of his life and having them come from Doumeki, of all people, was enough to make everything he encountered afterwards embarrassing, for some reason. Though most of the others took note- Fai made sure not to ask questions that couldn't be answered without speaking, and Syaoran only asked him if he was okay when no one was paying attention- it was none other than Himawari who ruined his attempt at not giving away what had happened.

"Hey, Watanuki? You've been acting really weird..." she commented, causing Watanuki to blush.

"Wh-what are you talking about? I'm f-fine, really!" he said, his tone so fake-cheerful that he almost sounded hysterical. Yuko looked up from her meal, now, the look in her eyes driving her assistant closer to becoming an arm-flailing, screaming mess. It was completely obvious that she knew- after all, she had known this entire time- but luckily for Watanuki, she didn't give him away entirely.

"Don't worry, Himawari. He's just that kind of person, right~?"

"Yeah," Doumeki chimed in. "Name me one time when he _hasn't _acted like a weirdo."

"_Hey_!" Watanuki said, his mood momentarily switching back to normal. "You're one to talk, Doumeki!" Before he could provide examples to prove Doumeki wrong, Yuko spoke up.

"Why don't you meet up with me after dinner, Watanuki?" she asked sweetly. The boy nodded, his eyes straying away from the other guests again. What did _she _have to say, if she knew?

When Watanuki found Yuko, she was standing in the lobby, looking out one of the windows at the dark sky. The boy wasn't sure if she wanted the interruption, but the witch spoke first.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the scenery. Watanuki shrugged.

"I figured you'd know that," he replied.

"Watanuki, despite what you believe, I don't know everything. Besides, even if I know what occurred, I still don't know the feelings, after all." When Watanuki remained silent, she decided to make sure they were on the same page. "He kissed you."

"...Yeah."

"And then you kissed him, the second time."

"Uh-huh." Watanuki blushed- the fact that he had done so was still a bit amazing to him. Voicing it was just the proof that he had done so, and he could hardly believe it, even now. Yuko turned to him now.

"Good for you. But you still didn't answer my question. Are you alright?" After a moment, Watanuki nodded slowly.

"...Yeah, I'm alright. I...I'm kinda happy, I guess," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. Yuko smirked.

"Why?"

"What do you mean, 'why'? Don't you _know_?" Watanuki snapped, glaring up at his employer.

"Of course I do~! But I want you to be the one to say it," Yuko replied innocently. Watanuki rolled his eyes, and reluctantly grumbled his next sentence.

"B-because I feel like we'll be okay. The two of us, as a 'couple' or whatever the hell we are...we'll be okay like that."

"Exactly," Yuko said, her gaze returning to the window. "I'm glad you finally came to terms with it. It won't be easy, but you'll figure it out. You two are smart," she said cheerfully. Watanuki nodded.

"I guess so." He paused, yawning widely. "Maybe I should get some sleep," he added.

"Goodnight," Yuko replied. As he disappeared up the stairs and towards his room, the witch continued to smile at her reflection in the window. She wouldn't have lied to him about that much- things would be difficult, as any relationship would be, but she had a feeling there would be enough for them to go on.

"Gotta say, I'm not used to this anymore," Doumeki said as Watanuki got ready for bed. "You sleeping in here, I mean." Watanuki shrugged, taking a seat on his bed and scanning the room with his eyes.

"Sorry," he said. Doumeki nodded, sinking into his own blankets.

"Whatever. Just don't stay up too late."

"You still can't parent me," Watanuki complained, pulling off his glasses and placing them on the table beside him. "Hey, Doumeki?"

"Hm?"

"Yuko said something important today. She told me that things aren't gonna be easy...I mean, I knew that, but I just thought you should know that, too. But what I wanted to say is...I won't give up if you don't. Okay?" He looked over at Doumeki hopefully, to find that he had fallen asleep halfway through his little speech. "Are you kidding?"


	16. Chapter 16

"It's over, you two!"

Watanuki was jolted out of sleep by a Mokona crash-landing on his chest. He groaned, not entirely understanding what it meant until Doumeki echoed it.

"The month, you mean? Is it time to leave?" Watanuki's eyes widened, and he reached for his glasses. The Mokona nodded eagerly, before bounding out of the room to join the others. The two roommates sat up and looked at each other for a moment before Doumeki spoke.

"Hm. So...it really is over," he said, pointing at Watanuki's tally. Watanuki himself looked slightly dazed, as if he couldn't believe it was really coming to an end.

"Yeah..." he murmured, standing up. "I guess we should get ready to go then, huh?" As he crossed the room, he couldn't resist making one more remark. "Glad it's over, to be honest. We can finally get out of this hellhole," he said with a grin. Doumeki rolled his eyes.

"I'll bet," he agreed, almost affectionately.

There was almost a nervous energy in the lobby as Yuko headed for the door. As she took her place in front of the group, she turned back to them.

"Just so you know, the moment I open this door, you all will vanish from this house. Syaoran, you and your group will move on to the next world, obviously. Watanuki, Doumeki, Himawari, you three will end up at my shop again. If you have any goodbyes, I'd suggest you make them now." The two groups turned to each other one last time as the witch opened the door and both Mokonas rose into the air, preparing to inhale their specific people.

"Bye!" the two Mokonas called to each other as they opened their mouths widely, releasing the lights that would take their passengers in with them. A few waves were exchanged in the quick moment before Yuko stepped forward, allowing herself to join the others as they left the house.

"Ow..."

Watanuki had crash-landed on the floor, and was now sprawled on his back and looking up at the familiar ceiling of Yuko's shop.

"Oh, Watanuki! You're so clumsy!" Maru and Moro said in unison, leaning over him to help him up. As he rose to his feet, Watanuki realized that he had been the only one to lose his balance, and the other three were watching him from where they had each landed. With an exasperated sigh, Watanuki looked over at Yuko.

"Well? Do you need anything, or can I go home?" he asked, expecting her to immediately demand dinner and alcohol. However, to his surprise, Yuko simply smiled and shook her head.

"No, I'll survive. Until tomorrow, anyway." She turned to Himawari now, her expression softening slightly. "Don't think you're unlucky in love, Himawari. The moment that's right for you is just around the corner, after all." Watanuki paled slightly as the girl beamed in response.

"Really? Um...wow! Thank you!" she replied. "Really, though, I don't mind. I'm happy for them, too!" As she pointed at the now-gloomy Watanuki and still-calm Doumeki, Yuko nodded in agreement.

"That's good to hear. You three may go home now, unless you feel like sticking around-"

"No, that's okay!" Watanuki said quickly, vanishing through the doors before he could be roped into playing the servant again.

Once the three teens had made it outside, Himawari looked up at the night sky. The streetlights were glowing dimly in the street, almost gesturing for them to follow their light and go home.

"I wonder if we were missed," she said. "Maybe Yuko did something so that no one worried about us...a month _is _a really long time to be gone."

"I wouldn't put it past her," Watanuki replied comfortingly. "I'm sure it's all fine, though I don't know who would've been taking care of my house." He was momentarily gripped with annoyance, realizing that the next few days would have to be spent cleaning. However, Himawari's next comment dragged him out of it immediately.

"I wasn't lying, you know," she said cheerfully, looking between her two friends. "I really _am _happy for you two getting together! Congratulations!"

"Thanks," Doumeki replied, earning him a glare from Watanuki. As Himawari turned onto her street and left the group, Watanuki's glare only increased.

"Do you _have _to act so comfortable about this? I still don't get it!" As he whined, Doumeki rolled his eyes again.

It would take a while, obviously. Watanuki was confused, despite everything that had happened. Whether or not they were a couple at the moment was really up to him, and it all came down to when he finally realized that it was right. Things would probably stay the same, either way- the back-and-forth bickering between the two was part of life for Doumeki, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Time would tell, of course.

He would be as patient as he possibly could.

_Author's Note: Aw. It's over already. I really enjoyed this one- it was really lighthearted and fun. XD And I couldn't resist- KuroFai, SyaoSaku and DouWata all in one? (devious grin) I hope you all liked it, and thank you for everyone who reviewed, favorited and even read. Well, that's all from mostlypsychotic for this round. See you around, and thanks again!_


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